Does anyone still fry fish at home? I'm guessing that most people prefer to go to a fish fry and enjoy the social aspect of it, rather than make a mess in their kitchen at home.
But seventy years ago, it seems that cooking fish at home was possibly the norm in Lorain – judging by this article that ran in the Lorain Journal on March 24, 1954.
"Tangy, fresh-caught Lake Erie fish have been heading for Lorain Lenten tables all this week, with boatloads of perch, pickerel and pike pouring over lakefront docks.
"Veteran city fisherman Pete LaGana produced more than a half-ton of fish – almost 90 percent perch – during each of the first two days this week, a check showed.
"A rush of Lorain housewives with families hungry for fresh-caught finny dinner grabbed up the catch "on order" even before it hit the docks, Mrs. LaGana said.
"The scarcity so far of pickerel is due to uncertain weather on the lake in early spring, Mrs. LaGana stated. With more than $6,000 worth of nets in the water now, she pointed out, the fishermen hesitate to lay the even more expensive pickerel and pike nets. A sudden windstorm, for which Lake Erie is notorious, could cost LaGana his entire investment.
"Daily trips start in the pre-dawn dark, with the fishing boats hitting the docks at about 2 p. m.
"The fish are in Broadway stores by 3 p. m. and usually all have passed over the counter by 6 p. m."
How did they ever clean all those fish?
The article explained, "Workmen in the processing plant in the rear of the store were busy early today boning and scaling Tuesday's catch. Iced immediately, the finny morsels are cleaned and packed largely by machine."
I'm sure most longtime Lorainites bought fish or some other seafood at LaGana's store on Broadway at some point in their lives. I remember being sent there by Mom to pick up fish. Later, Dad caught all the perch and walleye we could eat (two of his fishermen friends owned boats). Dad used to clean them himself, later he would take them to a fish-cleaning place around W. 21st and Leavitt.
